Be a Santa, Part 10

Track 34
Christmas at the Airport, Nick Lowe (2013)

Nick Lowe

Around the time I left for college in the late '70s there were some big changes taking place in the American rock music scene. I'd been into the whole California soft rock scene (CSN and CSNY, Fleetwood Mac, the Eagles, Steely Dan); I loved the Beatles, the Stones and David Bowie; I was crazy about Motown and all kinds of R&B — hell, I was even getting into disco. I had a couple of shows on our college radio station and hung around with other folks who were big into music and what was really capturing the attention of my edgier friends was the punk, new wave and power pop stuff that was coming out of London and New York — The Clash, Elvis Costello, The Police, Talking Heads … and British rocker Nick Lowe, for example. 

Lowe earned his chops on the London pub scene in the early to mid '70s as a member of the band Brinsley Schwarz. After leaving that band in 1975, Lowe played with Rockpile with Dave Edmunds, recorded a number of well-received solo albums and produced records by such artists as Elvis Costello, Graham Parker and the Rumour and The Damned. He was a prolific songwriter during this period, writing or so-writing such hits as "So It Goes," "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass," "Cruel to Be Kind," and "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding." Lowe's version of "Cruel to be Kind" made it all the way to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979, and his singles "Crackin' Up" and "Switchboard Susan" were also big hits. 

Although he released a string of fine records over the next 30 years, Lowe wasn't able to match the success he enjoyed in the late 1970s. To be honest, I sort of lost track of Nick Lowe until 2013, when he released a terrific holiday album called Quality Street:  A Seasonal Selection for All the Family, which record I'm happy to say was noted in this blog. David Letterman had Lowe on the Late Show in December 2013, and we reported on that here, too. For some reason, however, I've never included anything from Quality Street on my previous mixes. I'm happy to remedy that oversight this year by featuring "Christmas at the Airport."

Listen to Nick Lowe's Album "Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family"

Track 33

Rudolph (You Don't Have to Put on the Red Light), mojochronic (2010)

I found this little number in a file on my computer marked "Holiday Mashups," where it's been sitting for about ten years. I can't say I know a whole lot about mojochronic, but from what I can tell it's a person or group of people who combine two or more individual tracks into surprising and not-quite-discordant mashups. The two songs mashed together here, of course, are Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Roxanne, by The Police. The common element is that Rudolph's nose is red and Roxanne, a prostitute, likely plies her trade in a red-light district. I'm not sure there's very much more that needs to be said about this one, other than the fact that the video does a great job of cutting up the classic 1964 Rankin Bass television special to track to the beat of The Police. Enjoy.

Track 32

St. Nicolas, Filobin (1978)

This is another track I've had on my computer for quite a while but haven't found the right spot for until now. Unfortunately, I don't have a whole lot of information about this track. All I can really report is that Filobin is the stage name of Guy Philobin, a French animator and musical clown who released this holiday single in 1978 with a B-side titled "The Toys of a Wise Child." It's a cute little number, and I remember just enough of my high school French to be able get a rough gist of what the guy's saying.

Only three more tracks to review, and I'm hoping to post something on them around the same time Santa finishes his Christmas Eve deliveries in France tomorrow night!

Hey, Radio Programmers: How About Playing a Few New Holiday Songs Next Christmas?

As we get ready to close up shop here for our annual post-holiday hiatus, I thought it might be interesting to take one final look at Billboard's most recent Holiday Music Charts.  I was wrong. Nothing to see here, folks. These listings look pretty much the same as they've been throughout the season. In fact, the Airplay chart hasn't changed much since I wrote my last letter to Santa Claus. (I'm reluctant to share my exact age here, but I can tell you that stamps back then only cost a dime.)

Here are the latest tallies for this year:

I know I must sound like a broken record on the subject, but the average age of the ten most frequently played holiday songs this season is 50 years old! Now, it's not that I've necessarily got anything against any of these songs (well, OK, I'd love it if I never had to hear Mariah Carey again), but wouldn't it be nice to see a few stations take a chance and play some music recorded after color television was invented?

To get things started, I figured I'd suggest a few relatively recent releases that today's audiences might enjoy hearing amongst the old-time classics. Here, off the top of my head and in no particular order, are eight possibilities:

A Long Way Home, Sofia Talvik (2014)



Mrs. Claus Ain't Got Nothing on Me, Little Jackie (2010)




Ain't No Chimneys in the Projects, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings (2009)



A Christmas Song for You, The Kik (2011)

Christmas In New York, by The Rosebuds (2012)

My Favourite Time of the Year, The Florin Street Band (2011)




Wish List, Neon Trees (2010)


Christmas at the Airport, Nick Lowe (2012)




I could easily pull together another couple of dozen suggestions, but I think I've made my point. Our culture seems to be at a particularly awkward point in its development just now, as we watch two fundamentally different trends continue to unfold. On the one hand, our mass media has become bland and lifeless as TV, radio and traditional print outlets are either gobbled up by a small handful of powerful corporations or quietly put out of their misery. The result is an industry that panders to the lowest common denominator so as to avoid offending potential consumers, or at least Hollywood's conception of what the typical consumer now is. On the other hand, we have the internet — a truly revolutionary tool that gives everyone a microphone and printing press and helps even small groups of like-minded fans to find one another and support an infinite variety of tastes and styles. Of course, the very diversity the internet serves can be manipulated to divide people into ever smaller segments and thereby exert greater overall control over society as a whole, which is why it's so important to follow developments on both a macro and micro level. The challenges we face as a society require increasing vigilance and involvement, along with a generous dollop of holiday spirit and cheer.

Letterman to Host Nick Lowe on Wednesday's Late Show

The always jaunty and stylish Nick Lowe released his first Christmas record this Fall, titled Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for the Whole Family. If you like the album, or if you haven't heard it yet, be sure to watch the Late Show with David Letterman tomorrow (Wednesday) night, December 11, when Nick will be the featured musical guest. And while you're at it, might as well schedule your DVR to tape David's final pre-Christmas broadcast on Monday, December 23. I'm not sure the guests for that night have been officially announced yet, but it's a pretty good bet that Darlene Love will be on hand to sing "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" once again as she has on every pre-holiday show for the past 27 years. More on that sometime next week.

Coming Soon: We'll look at the next two songs from my latest mix, C'est Noel, which will require a trip to Transylvania via Cotton Top Mountain. Wear warm clothes.

Nick Lowe's "Quality Street" Offers Seasonal Fun for All

Quick! Who's that handsome devil pictured to the left? Believe it or not, that's Nick Lowe, the talented British singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer who burst on the scene in the late 1970s with such clever and catchy songs as "What's So Funny (About Peace Love and Understanding)," which became a hit for Elvis Costello; "Cruel to Be Kind," which made it to #12 on Billboard's Hot 100 in the Summer of 1979; "I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass"; "So It Goes," and, one of my favorites, "Switchboard Susan," which I played to death in my college radio days. Unfortunately, Lowe seemed to disappear almost as quickly as he arrived, and while he's released a steady stream of well-reviewed records over the past three decades, he's never again enjoyed the same level of popularity as he did when he first helped bring new wave and power pop to the States way back in the Jimmy Carter era. Fast forward 30+ years to 2013, and to our collective good fortune, Lowe's just released a new holiday album called Quality Street (A Seasonal Selection for All the Family) on Yep Roc Records. It's a rich mix of well-crafted pop tunes -- some familiar, others original. From the Memphis rave-up sound of "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" to the deliciously sentimental Roger Miller classic "Old Toy Trains," Quality Street has a little something for everyone. Well, no –strike that, for as Lowe himself emphasizes, this one's a "sleigh-bell free zone," meaning you won't find any of your typical saccharin-laced holiday fare here. But whether you think of Nick Lowe as the cutting edge artist who makes pure pop for now people or some old fool from your grandfather's distant past, you'll undoubtedly find something wonderful among this seasonal selection.